


Spawn of Witch and Hunter

by 50shadesofWinchesters



Series: Dean x Hermione [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Supernatural
Genre: Demons, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hunters & Hunting, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:29:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25563625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50shadesofWinchesters/pseuds/50shadesofWinchesters
Summary: Captured and bound, Hermione has three choices, and none of them are favorable. So she chooses the lesser of the three evils, regardless of the danger it poses to herself and her unborn child. Hermione needs to keep her boys safe. With the help of an unlikely friend, Hermione has a job to do.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Dean Winchester
Series: Dean x Hermione [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/266761
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. Mai Tai

**Author's Note:**

> It's been soooo long since I've written anything, so I'm sorry if this reads rough. If you've read 'My Love for You is Eternal', I haven't given up on it yet! Just had to put this out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work has been edited with the help of my new Beta so it sounds better.

Hermione sat in a  hardwooden chair. She was bound tightly by the demon who was holding her. Her wand was sitting far from her on a table and Sam and Dean were out cold, tied to posts. Thanks to being with the boys, she could tell by the twitchy movements of the demon; it was new to being in a meat suit. 

The demon noticed her staring and laughed. “Don’t worry sweetie,” the female voice coming from the meat suit was sweet and thick like honey. “It ain’t gonna be _me_ that you gotta deal with, witch.” Hermione frowned as the female meat suit sauntered out of the dark room. 

“’I _ t’s just a small hunt. We don’t need to bring everything in. A small nest of vamps _ .’” Hermione’s voice mocked Sam’s as she rolled her eyes. “Why they don’t listen to me, I’ll never bloody know.” She huffed slightly. “Hello?” She shouted. “This room service sucks! How’s a girl supposed to get a Mai Tai in these parts? Excuse me!? Wee bit thirsty here!”  It wasn’t her first time being captured and tied up. A lot of her talk had been picked up from being with the Winchesters so long. She huffed loudly and shifted in her seat. “Honestly!” Hermione shouted again. “I’ll even settle for water!”

“My dear, Mai Tai’s take time. Especially if they are coming from Tahiti.” A low grumble of a voice came as the door opened. 

Hermione huffed again. “If that demon would have told me I was waiting for you, I would have waited patiently. There was no need to tie me up.” 

Crowley smiled. “My dearest Hermione, you are from another world,”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Fine. You are another species than the Winchesters. Hell, even than my own meat suit.” He sat in what could be called a throne across from her.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Oh please, Miss Granger. Get  _ sassy _ for me.” He sipped his drink. “It excites me.” He smirked.

“Crowley, you know that I’m of no threat to you. Not with your mummy out and alive.” Crowley bristled at having his mother brought up. “Untie me. Let us drink and talk while the boys get a much-needed rest, perhaps also untied?” She quirked an eyebrow, making him frown. “Okay. How about in a softer location but still tied up? Come on Crowley. We both know how dangerous those boys are. But you and I also know that they do good work and deserve a rest. Let me put a sleeping spell on them. Clearly you want to talk to me.”

Crowley thought for a moment. “Fine.” He lifted a hand but Hermione stood, ropes falling to the ground. 

“ Whoever you had tie me up, they need more practice.” 

Crowley sighed. “Just take care of the boys so we may talk, Miss Granger.”

Hermione nodded and manually untied her boys before grabbing her wand off of a table. She pointed her wand at the chair she had previously had been seated in. “ Diffindo .” The chair split and Crowley frowned. She waved her wand at the two halves and they became small couches. With another flick, Sam and Dean levitated off the ground and landed softly onto the couches. Another flick and the pained look on the boy’s faces turned calm as a sleeping spell eased their pain. Hermione turned and crossed her arms, looking at Crowley.

“You could have asked for a place to put the boys.”

She shrugged. “But then you would have made me sit back in that chair. Now you can get me a real chair.” A smile played on her lips, making Crowley frown deeper. He snapped his fingers and two lesser demons came in, one with a large deep green cushioned chair and the other holding a tray of Mai Tai’s. Hermione sat carefully in her chair and took her drink.

Crowley took his and smiled at the girl. “ Don't worry, love. It’s a virgin drink.”

“I’m not a child. My youthfulness comes from being a natural witch.” Hermione frowned.

“Oh, I know you are, love. But I do believe that the bun in your oven wouldn’t be too appreciative of you having a drink.” The King crossed his legs.

Hermione shifted. “I don’t  know what you’re talking about.”

He scoffed. “Come now, love. Just because you can fool Moose and Squirrel doesn’t mean you can fool me. You’re looking a tad round in the face. And the baggy clothes? Please. Have a bit of self-respect. You’re about what? Three, four months along? And which dunderhead is  responsible ?”

Hermione set her glass on the arm of the chair and crossed her arms,  refusing to speak.

“That’s fine, don’t tell me.  We’ll just get to the point then. I have a proposition for you. I want you to work for me and I’ll let the boys go.”

“What do you mean by work for you?” Hermione huffed and  shifted in her seat.

“Hunt for me. I’m looking for something. Well, more of a someone than a something.” Crowley took a drink.

“Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess?” Her stomach growled, making her realize it'd been too long since she last ate. 

“Why don’t we feed that craving first, hm?” Crowley snaped his fingers again and a lesser demon appeared and bowed. Crowley motioned towards them. “Don’t be shy, love. They have orders to give you anything you eat, no poison added.”

Hermione didn’t trust what Crowley said, but he’d been generous and fulfilled everything that she’d asked of him so far.  So, what was  the harm?


	2. Hand maid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been edited with help of my Beta to make it sound better.

Hermione let out a soft sigh as she finished her third knickerbocker glory. A small smile made its way to her lips as she licked the spoon. Hermione set the cup on the tray a demon was holding and looked at Crowley. “Now, who is it that you want me to find?”

The King of Hell finished his fifth Mai Tai and set it on the same tray. “I’m in search of an Alpha.” Hermione rolled her eyes. “An Alpha Werewolf.”

“No thank you. I’m not  interested in playing Twilight or whatever twisted romance  novelization you think is going to happen.”

Crowley chuckled and stood. “I don’t think you get to say no to this, my dear. You see, the only way Sam and Dean are leaving here alive is if you agree. Otherwise...” The same demon that had tied up the trio appeared by the boys with a gun in her hand, smirking. “Or, we could make a deal. Everyone will get to walk away alive.” 

Hermione shook her head. “No. No deal. I’m not making deals.”

“Well then Miss Granger, I believe we’re at an impasse.” Crowley went back to his throne and leaned back, crossing his legs.

Hermione frowned and crossed her legs. “So that’s it then? You threaten my  boys and try to make a deal?” 

The demon scoffed at the witch. “No, Miss Granger. This is what’s next.” He snapped his fingers and Hermione was bound again, with chains this time. She grunted softly as they pulled a little too tightly. “Uncomfortable?” She didn’t respond, making him smile. “Good. I’ll come back when you're more agreeable. But not to fret love. Daddy will make sure you four are fed. Oh, and I think I'll take that.” Crowley snapped his fingers again and Hermione's wand appeared into his open hand. “Don't need you mucking it all up by waking our sweet sleeping beauties." He stood, fiddling with her wand in his hands “Ta ta, love” Crowley walked out of the room leaving the trio.

Hermione huffed, making her chains tighten. “ Well this is just great.” She looked round, hoping to find to something to help her, but found nothing. “Just ruddy brilliant.” She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. There was a single lightbulb in the middle of the room that swung slightly menacingly making, Hermione roll her eyes. “I mean, you’d think that he’d invest in some kind of decor but  _ nooo, _ bloody King of Hell likes to  _ intimidate _ his  lessers .” She scoffed. “Honestly.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What felt like hours later, a male demon opened the door and walked in with a large tray of food. Hermione let out a breathy chuckle. “Oh good, refreshments. Is ‘ _ Daddy’ _ monitoring what I eat and how often?” The demon didn’t respond, making Hermione pause and decide to take a different approach. “So, erm, what is he feeding me?” He unbound her hands and then set the tray across the arms of the chair. “That’s a lot of food...” The demon shrugged and pulled up a chair that was sitting in the wings and sat across from her.

On the tray was a whole roasted duck surrounded by cooked chunks of potatoes and carrot, and onion slices; three baked apples, a pitcher of what looked like pumpkin juice, a large knickerbocker glory, and a small bowl of ice mice. The demon poured some pumpkin juice in a large golden goblet and handed it to her. Not realizing how thirsty she was and drank everything in it. The demon took the goblet back and filled it up again. Hermione took it eagerly and drank while he sliced the duck and poured some sauce on it, then placed it in front of her. Once Hermione had drained the goblet again, she took the fork the demon handed to her. 

“So, do you have a name or are you the strong silent type?” Hermione took a bite of the duck trying to savor it, not knowing when her next meal would be.

“I’m just here to feed you. Not to talk to y ou .”

“So, he does speak!” Hermione chuckled as she stabbed a carrot. “That’s fine, you don’t have to tell me your name. I’ll just call you... Philip. So, Philip, how’d you get stuck with working as my personal hand maid?” Philip scowled and didn’t answer. Hermione seemed oblivious that he wasn’t going to answer her. “Because if you ask me, it seems kind of degrading and a demon that looks like you,” she gestured to him with her free hand as she went for a potato, “I’d think Crowley would have you trying to get some souls. Or are  you naughty?” She took a minute to eat her potato. The demon refilled her goblet again and then sat back, crossing his arms. “So, what did you do to make ‘ _ Daddy’ _ mad? Did you take his favorite toy?” 

The demon scowled darkly. “It’s none of your business.” He paused. “Finish eating. You’re taking too long.”

“What about Sam and Dean?” Hermione frowned and set her fork down. There was still more than half of the duck and vegetables left and she had yet to touch the apples, the knickerbocker glory, and  the ice mice; but the pumpkin juice was almost gone. 

Philip shrugged. “Like you said, I'm your ‘hand maid’. Those morons aren't my concern. Now eat, Granger.” Hermione folded her hands on the table and didn’t respond, making him sigh loudly. “Fine. What do I care?” Philip stood and moved his chair back to the corner of the room. “I don’t understand how you sit on that chair like it’s a throne, like you’re in control. You can’t even take care of yourself. You being bound is proof!” He walked back to Hermione and leaned down to look her in the eye. “You are of value to Crowley, use that. Act like you give a damn about yourself and this Hunter spawn inside of you. Take the job and he’ll let them go. Take the damn deal, witch. I’ll make sure you’re safe.” Philip stood and took the tray. “I’ll be back in a few hours to feed you,” he turned but continued to talk. “Crowley will be with me. Agree to his terms.  Bargain to make sure those two dunderheads go free and that I go with you.” Philip made his way to the door. Just as he opened the door, he stopped again. “And my name is Abraxas.” He left the room and closed the door, leaving Hemione to her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GODS I forgot how much I love to write! I hope ya'll are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing this! I'm not sure how long this is going to go on for, but I hope ya'll strap in for the ride!


	3. Lasagna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been edited by my Beta so it sounds better.

Hermione sighed loudly as she sat there for who knew how long. “He could have at least given me something to do.” She looked over at the boys, making sure they were still asleep, and smiled softly seeing that they were both snoozing peacefully. She frowned slightly as she continued to look at them and thought about Crowley’s proposal. Agree to find the Werewolf Alpha and he agrees to let the boys go, she makes a deal and who knows  _ what  _ Crowley will ask for, or she refuses and Crowley kills the boys and what about her? He uses her to get what he wants anyways? She takes revenge? Then what about the baby? She needed to tell-

Her thoughts were interrupted as the large door swung open for a third time. Hermione looked and saw Crowley walk in with Abraxas in  tow, holding an even larger tray than the first time. 

“Well, my little pet. Abraxas tells me you’ve opened up to him quite a bit. How sweet. But now it's time for us to talk again.” Crowley waved his hand, making Hermione's chains disappear as he sat in his throne. Hermione stood and slowly stretched each part of herself while Abraxas pulled out a table from who knows where and started to set it up for her to eat. She looked over at the table and saw it was full of Italian food. A large tray of lasagna, eggplant parmesan, a fresh bread topped with ricotta and tomatoes, a whole limoncello cream pie, and another large pitcher of pumpkin juice. “No, this time I expect you to eat more than  handful of bites. You’ll need your strength.”

Hermione sat down in her chair and crossed her ankles. Abraxas poured pumpkin juice into a gold goblet and handed it to her. Hermione took the goblet and slowly drank from it, not wanting to show Crowley how desperate she was for food or drink. “Strength for what?” She asked, setting the goblet down. Abraxas smirked slightly as he was facing her cutting the lasagna to plate it. 

“Why, to go werewolf hunting, of course.” Crowley smiled, sitting back in his chair.

Hermione began to eat her slice of lasagna, again savoring it so the King of Hell wouldn’t know how hungry she was, and Abraxas stood to the right of her making Crowley’s eye twitch upwards slightly. “ Mmm . This is very good. Abraxas, who made this?” She knew making Crowley wait was a dangerous game, but she had the upper hand.

“I did. Ma’am.” There was a long pause before he choked out the politeness of ‘ma’am’.

Hermione took another bite. “It’s quite good. Where did you learn to cook?”

Abraxas sniffed back a smile. “My meat suit was a chief. I just don’t often get a chance to show it.”

“ Mmm . Well, my compliments to the-”

“Are you two done? Miss Granger, we have things to discuss.”

Hermione nodded and looked for a napkin, which Abraxas provided with a flourish, and dabbed at her mouth before taking a drink of pumpkin juice. “Yes, of  course . I’ll find your Alpha, on conditions.”

Crowley scoffed and straightened. “Conditions? Fine. Let’s hear them.”

Hermione smiled and folded her hands on the table. “Sam and Dean go free. No memory of this happening to them.”

“Done.”

“Abraxas comes with me. I won’t be hunting alone. It’s not safe.”

Crowley huffed. “Done.  Anything else?”

“Yes. What you know about the baby stays in this room. We don’t need the boys coming after me.”

“You really are going in for the long con then, aren’t you?  What's your plan then? Have the little bugger and run? Find it a new daddy?”

Hermione picked her fork back up. “That’s actually none of your concern. What is your concern is that I find this Alpha, yes? I’ll do it if you keep to our conditions.”

Crowley stood and started to walk around as Hermione ate. “So, you want to bargain with me and your only chip is that you’ll find me the Alpha?” He scoffed. “Miss Granger, you think you’re playing with a Royal Flush but all you’ve really got is a Flush. I’ve got the winning cards and you’ve lost.”

“Actually,” Hermione finished her plate and Abraxas piled on eggplant parmesan for her to eat, “you need me to find the Alpha. Because no one else you’ve employed is brave enough. Not even Samuel.” She smiled pointing at Crowley with her loaded fork. “And the only reason that I'll even do it is to keep Sam and Dean safe. I’m your last resort.” Hermione laughed to herself as she ate the eggplant. “And if you can tell me differently, I'll wake up the boys and you can tell them about the baby.”

Abraxas turned away from Crowley to smile and refill Hermione's  cup . “That was bold." He whispered. 

Hermione smiled as Crowley sighed loudly. “Fine.” He held his hand up for her to shake.

Hermione shook her head. “I’d rather it be in  writing .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is a little short! I really wanted a whole chapter to the boys waking up!


	4. Signature

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this out. I thought I had posted this, but apparently not! Hopefully I'll be back to posting once a week again! Thank ya'll for still being here!
> 
> This has been edited by my Beta so it sounds better.

Hermione looked over the long scroll with a magnifying glass, making sure there weren’t any loopholes. Hermione held her hand out to Abraxas and he set a pen in her hand as she scratched something out and wrote something else in.

Much to Crowley's disapproval, but he let her do it anyway. He knew full well that there was no way around her not doing it. She had argued with him for almost an hour before he gave in. He swirled the dark liquid in his Brandy Snifter as she continued. He drummed his fingers on the opposite hand as she ate a bit of ricotta toast. “Are you quite finished yet?”

Hermione licked her lips and looked up from the scroll. “Done eating or done proofreading?”

“Both. Either. Pick one.” Crowley was frustrated and bored.

Hermione shook her head as she picked up her pumpkin juice. “You should have known I was going to do this. Doesn’t everyone who makes a deal with you do this?”

He scoffed. “No. Well, there was one, but he was mad with power.” Thinking about Dick Roman made him chuckle. “Everyone else just wants to sign away and get their reward, screw the details and what signing entitles.”

Hermione shook her head and went back to the scroll. She had just a few lines left and wanted to make sure it said exactly what it was supposed without fucking her over in the long run. “Hold on.”

Crowley sighed loudly into his  snifter . “Now what.” It was more of a statement and less of a question. 

“Clause four hundred and seventy-three says, ’The party of the first, if the party of the second is unsuccessful to said mission in clause thirty-five, is allotted twenty minutes of torture to the party of the second, via chaining, whipping, pulling appendages, removing fingernails or teeth, or if necessary, removing vital organs.’ I’m not agreeing to that.” Hermione scratched that off. “That’s too broad and you could try and take my womb and child, we’re not doing that. If I somehow don’t succeed,” Hermione started to write on the scroll, “you can tell the boys about who’s the baby’s father.”

“But that doesn't hold the same gravitas as taking the child from you.” Crowley smirked. “I’d be a very good Demon Daddy to the little  witchlet . I've been a father to a magical child before.”

Hermione shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I don't think I want you around my child at all.”

“Do we have a name for the witchlet yet, or are we waiting to tell Sam and Dean so they can do the honors?”

“That’s none of your business.” Hermione picked the magnifying glass back up and started to read the scroll again.

“Do you know the sex of the witchlet yet? I could tell you if you’d like.” Crowley set down his brandy snifter and interlaced his fingers over his knee.

Hermione scoffed and looked over the magnifying glass. “You don’t have that kind of power. And besides, I already know the sex of my child. And before you ask,” she went back to the scroll as Crowley opened his mouth “No, I'm not going to tell you. Nice try. T ry harder.”

Abraxas coughed to hide a smirk, then bent down to cut the limoncello cream pie and set a slice on a plate for Hermione. He took the magnifying glass from her and replaced it with a fork. “Ma’am, you really should finish all of your food.”

Hermione looked up and smiled. “Yes, of course. Thank you,  Abraxas .” Hermione looked up at Crowley and smirked. “I have all the time I need to finish this whole pie. This isn’t finalized until I finish with it.”

“The longer you take, the longer it’s going to be until Moose and Squirrel eat. And they haven't eaten in, what? Ten, twelve hours? I’m sure they’re getting quite hungry.” The King of Hell smiled back at Hermione, making her frown.

“The sleeping spell that they are under has them in a sort of sleep stasis where they aren't hungry, thirsty, or in need of bodily functions.” Hermione shrugged. 

“Miss Granger,” Crowley stood and moved towards her. “I don’t think you understand the situation you are in. Yes, I need you. But I can always find someone else and toss you to the bloody gutter, witchlet and all. Now sign the BLOODY PAPERS AND GET A MOVE ON! I AM NOT A PATIENT MAN!” 

His shouting ruffed Hermione’s feathers and made her stand up quickly. “I have fought a war as a child soldier, I have helped take down a Dark Lord, and I have helped a whole community come back from complete and utter ruin, I will  _ not _ be spoken to like some common human! You want me to find you the bloody Alpha? You agree to  _ my  _ terms and maybe, just maybe I‘ll agree to yours. This is not a one-way street. You don't dictate me. I  _ will _ find your bloody Alpha Werewolf and bring him to you alive and fighting, I will do it on  _ my  _ terms and you will thank me!” The air around the two demons and witch crackled from her magic and fury.

Cowley smiled and sat back in his chair. “There’s that famous anger I've been waiting for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All work after this will all be edited by my Beta.


	5. Stephenville

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little longer than the others. Edited by my lovely Beta.

Hermione scowled deeply as Crowley smirked. “Are you going to sign the contract now?”

Hermione started to stand, but Abraxas put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma’am, you look thirsty.” His hand was firm and giving her a message.

She sighed and nodded. “Yes. I think I am.” She went back to finish reading the contract as  Abraxas filled her glass. “Well, I suppose everything is in order.” Hermione picked up her glass and took a drink, dragging the moment out just a little longer. “Mm, by the way, I’m taking the boys with me.”

Crowley shrugged. “Take them out of here with you, take them hunting with you. Makes no difference to me. Just sign the bloody paper.”

Hermione arched a delicate brow. “What’s the rush on this? You seem to have a time limit. As someone having to do your dirty work, I feel like I should know what I’m getting myself into.” She was pushing her luck again.

“Sign. I’m not telling you anything until after you sign.” Crowley stood up and turned away from Hermione. 

Hermione  smiled slightly and took another drink. “Alright.” She picked the pen back up and signed. “There. Now, why is there a time limit?”

Crowley snapped his fingers and Hermione’s wand replaced the pen in  her hand. “The last known whereabouts for the Alpha is Van Horn, Texas. Abraxas, obviously, will be going with you. Take the boys. How exactly are you going to explain this to them?”

“Never you mind that.” Hermione stood up and sighed. How  _ was _ she supposed to explain this to them? Hunting a werewolf with a demon?  What a mess she had gotten  herself into. 

Hermione heard Crowley started to walk out of the room with a cruel chuckle. “Good luck, Granger. Or should I say, Winchester? Keep that little witchlet safe for me, will you? And let me know when you tell Moose and Squirrel who the father is.” The door closed with a hard thud, leaving Hermione and Abraxas alone with the sleeping boys.

“Fuck.” Hermione rubbed her hand across her face in frustration. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rumble of the Impala helped Hemione think as she drove. Dean hated it when anyone but him drove his Baby, but he and Sam were sleeping in the backseat. She had lifted the sleeping charm on them and was anxiously waiting for them to wake up. 

When Hermione, Abraxas, and the boys left the empty building Crowley had them in, it took a few moments for Hermione to figure out where they were. In typical Crowley fashion, he had kept them in an empty building by the famous crossroads in Clarksville, Mississippi. It didn’t take her long to figure out where Baby was, then figure out that they needed to drive fourteen hours to get to Van Horn, Texas.

“Ma’am?” Abraxas’ voice brought Hermione out of her thoughts. “ Perhaps we should pull over. You look hungry.”

“I think you shouldn’t call me that anymore. If we’re going with this lie, they’ll wonder why another hunter is acting like that.”

He was silent for a moment. “Of course. I’ll need to find a new meat suit then. Something more... fitting of this role?”

Hermione nodded, eyeballing him. He was tall, with waist length blonde hair. His features were sharp but soft. He had a small bit of blonde scruff on his face. His eyes were ice blue, but his gaze made her feel warm. His meat suit  _ had _ to have been a model. “Okay, the boys  _ are  _ going to be  hungry when they wake up.” She thought for a moment. “I think I’m also hungry.”

“When will they wake up?”

Hermione shrugged. “I’m not sure. They’ve been going nonstop for a while, so this is the first time that they’ve rested for more than thirty minutes.” She frowned as she pulled off of the highway. They had already been driving for eight hours, and Hermione was becoming concerned about how much longer the boys would be sleeping. She pulled into a Whataburger and parked. Hermione got out, but as soon as she shut the door, Dean jumped snorting, himself awake. 

“What the hell?! Sam?!” Dean whipped around, looking for his brother, and saw him still asleep slumped over. Dean shook Sam. “Sammy! Sammy, wake up!” Dean looked around, not sure where they were.

“Dean?! Where are we?” Sam sat up, looking afraid as his head moved on a swivel.

“Dean? Sam?” Hermione turned around and opened the door to let them out. “You’re awake!”

“Herms? Wh-where are we?” Dean tumbled out of the car and grabbed Hermione’s hand. Sam fell out after him.

“Stephenville, Texas.” Hermione helped the boys off of the asphalt and looked around. Abraxas was nowhere in sight. “I got a call from an old friend who needed help with a pack of werewolves in a small town in Texas. He’s going to meet us here.”

“How long have we been asleep? How did we get into the car? Hermione, I’m so  confused.. ” Sam rubbed his head.

“We were hunting a small nest of vamps, remember? But we got  ambushed and you two got knocked out and I had to...”

“You used magic.” Dean wasn’t  asking , it was an  accusation . The three of them had been hunting together for six years, but Dean couldn’t get past her magic still.

“Dean, I had to.” Hermione tried to plead her case like; she did every time they got into a tight spot and she had to use her magic. It always made her feel bad when he did this.

“Thanks, Hermione. I know you only used your magic because you had to.” Sam frowned at Dean. Sam knew that Hermione was dangerous but she always did what was best, especially when it came to magic. He hated how Dean hated magic so much. They were taught that magic was all bad and came from Demons, but they had even learned that some Demons weren’t all that bad.

Hermione sighed as Dean turned away. “I’m  gonna get some food.” He kicked the ground as he walked away. 

Sam put a hand on Hermione’s shoulder and sighed. “He’ll get over it,  eventual -”

“Sam, it’s been five years.” Hermione interrupted. “I don’t think he will.” 

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and looked around. “I think I'll go find something that isn’t deep fried in grease.” He looked around and saw a large sign that said Subway a little way away, and started walking towards it. 

“Sam, don’t you want to wait  until Dean gets back?” 

He shook his head and kept walking. Sam often went to another restaurant to eat so this wasn’t uncommon, but where he was heading was pretty far. Hermione sighed and leaned against the car. She pulled out her phone to look for places to sleep since it was getting dark. She had no idea how long Abraxas would be and had no way of telling him anything since he took off without saying anything. She looked at the three closest motels. She called up the Roadway Inn that was down the street and made a reservation for two rooms. She told the front desk attendant that they would be paying in cash and gave them her current pseudo name as Dean walked out with a large bag of food, a full drink holder, and a smile on his face. Food normally made him happy.

“Hey Herms! I got us a feast! So much food for such a good price! And milkshakes!” He sat down the food and drinks on the hood of Baby.

Hermione hung up the phone and smiled slightly as she walked over. “I hope you got something healthy too?” She was teasing, of course. 

Dean scoffed and opened the bag and pulled out a burger for Hermione and then one for himself. “Oh yea. Super healthy. There’s lettuce and tomatoes on some of them. So, they’re healthy.”

Hermione chuckled and took her burger from him to unwrap it. “Oh look, jalapenos.” She took a bite and smiled. “This is really good.”

Dean took a few bites before wrapping the burger backup and  setting it on the hood. “Hermione,  I.. I wanted to apologize... I know I’m hard on you about using your magic.. I’m just not used to  it.. ”

Hermione looked for a napkin in the bag. This was a conversation that happened a lot. “Dean, we don’t have to do this. It’s okay.” She dabbed at her face trying  to get the grease and cheese off.

Dean kicked the ground. “Yea, we do. It’s really helpful when we need it, and I don’t know what would’ve happened if you wouldn’t’ve gotten us outta the tight spot.” He didn’t look up from the ground. 

Hermione touched Dean’s hand, making him look up at her. She smiled softly and squeezed his hand lightly. “Dean, it’s okay. Really.”

“Hey, you two got food yet? I have extra subs. They couldn’t get my order right.” Sam walked up holding several Subway bags frowning. 

Hermione moved her hand away quickly as Sam walked up. They didn’t like to show affection in front of Sam at Hermione's request. It made her  uncomfortable . “Yea, Dean got a bunch of food and I found a place down the road for us to stay at.”

“Great. Let's go. I’m exhausted still, somehow.” Sam walked over to Baby and got into the back. He started sitting back there after Hermione started getting car sick four months ago. Dean put the food back into the bag and moved to get into Baby as Hermione followed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The road so far: https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=30154955-84cb-45f4-852b-746427513fcc&cp=32.203216~-98.250593&lvl=16&imgid=74b5524f-3917-46ab-b856-497bc537dec2&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027
> 
> Abraxas' character model: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=VM9%2FxQwC&id=8EF0461D4BD1F8241578FE676FBD4005C37A1FE4&thid=OIP.VM9_xQwCNNbZ93JYHIS-UQHaHa&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F19%2F30%2F00%2F193000d1192425afb9a3061ddd8b62c9.jpg&exph=640&expw=640&q=jorge+pla&simid=608052934329831223&ck=C9CE0BB5A1B92B057B3ABC035FAFD451&selectedindex=1&form=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0&vt=1&sim=11


	6. Led Zeppelin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PWP chapter. After the last episode of Supernatural, here's a bit of fluff. Edited by IAmSorry__sendmeaprompt. Check them out after you finish this chapter!

The Roadway Inn was just down the road from the Whataburger. Hermione went inside the lobby to check them in, while Sam and Dean pulled the few bags they had out of the trunk. She walked back outside with two room keys. “Two queens for my boys.” She smirked slightly at the long running joke, which they didn’t find funny. 

Dean rolled his eyes and took the key from her outstretched hand. “Gee Herms, I’ve never heard that before. I still don’t like that you room by yourself.”

“I’ll be fine, Dean. Really. Besides, there’s only two beds and it’s a small room. This is a little more extravagant than what you normally get.”

“Oh, so it’s the Hermione special?” Sam smirked slightly. Dean always chose the cheapest place. “No vibrating beds, real coffee, free continental breakfast, a pool.” Sam took the key from Dean and walked away. “Indoor vending machines, no mold.” Sam continued to list things off as he walked, making Hermione laugh softly as Dean scowled. 

He turned to her and put a hand on her waist. “I’d really feel better if you weren’t in a room alone.”

“Dean,” Hermione looked around to make sure Sam wasn’t around, and to look for Abraxas. “I’ll be fine. Really. You worry too much.”

“Can I tuck you into bed after Sammy goes to sleep?” Dean wiggled his eyebrows, making Hermione giggle. He pulled her close to kiss her neck.

“Dean, stop it. What if Sam sees?”

“So what.” He muttered against her neck. “I don’t know why you’re trying to keep this from him, he has to have some kinda idea that we’re together.”

Hermione wrapped her arms around Dean’s neck and leaned into him, not answering. The relationship she had with Sam felt too close to her past relationship with Harry. She pulled away and lightly kissed Dean on the lips.  “Walk me to my room?”

Dean smiled and picked up his and her bags. “Lead the way!”

They walked together quietly, Hermione racking her brain how best to tell Dean about her condition before he-

“Herms?” Dean’s voice pulled Hermione from her thoughts. “How do you know this hunter we’re supposed to meet up with? I thought you didn’t know anyone outside of London.”

Hermione forgot about how she’d tell the boys she knew Abraxas. “He’s a friend from overseas. He helped me come over here.”

Dean nodded slowly as they walked. “Okay.” 

She knew he didn’t believe her. They stopped at room 23. “This is my room. You and Sam are in room 29.” She unlocked her room door and took her bag. 

Dean put his hand on the small of Hermione’s back and pulled her back in for a long, soft kiss. 

She melted against him instantly. He was always so warm and firm, but still somehow so soft. “Go,” Hermione pulled herself away from the intoxication of Dean’s lips, “before Sam gets too suspicious. I’ll email him information about the case.”

Dean smirked, a twinkle in his eye. “Night Herms.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione sat against the headboard in the middle of the bed in one of Dean’s grey shirts and blue shorts, the local news on the TV reading ‘ _ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’.  _ Typically, Hermione read light romance books, but it had been a while since she had been to a bookstore. 

‘ _ The lack of a plausible story, preferably one that absolves him of being an-’ _

A knock on the door interrupted her reading. Hermione knew who was at the door. “It’s open.” She went back to her book as the door opened. 

“Anything interesting in the news?” Dean’s voice came from the doorway, wearing a black shirt with Led Zeppelin symbols on it, plain blue Wranglers,  and his  typical boots.

Hermione shrugged and looked at the TV. “I think they said something about a tradition and a tree? I’m not sure. This book is really good.”

Dean dropped down on the bed next to her and looked at the book. “ Isn't that Sammy’s book?”

“ Mmm . He didn’t like it, so he gave it to me.”

Dean chuckled. “Bookworms.” He kissed Hermione’s temple as he reached over her to get the remote. He flipped through the channels for a while, letting her read. Dean was perfectly content just being there with Hermione. He stopped on  _ Ancient Aliens  _ on the History Channel. Hermione moved to rest her head on Dean’s chest as she continued to read and he got lost in the show. Dean gently played with the loose curls that had fallen out of the whippy bun Hermione’s hair was in as they laid there. Dean chuckled at the show. “People really do believe anything, don’t they?”

“ Mmm .” Hermione wasn’t really listening,  just responding to the sound of his voice.

Dean looked down and plucked the book out of her hands and started reading a passage from her book out loud. “ _ She led them through the hall, which, unlike in previous years, was buzzing with excitement.”  _ Hermione tried to snatch the book back from Dean but he moved away too fast. _ “People were shouting good luck to him,  _ _ congratulating _ _ him on the interview.  _ _ Coriol _ _ \-  _ Herms, what the hell is this book? It sounds  kinda crazy.”

“It’s the  prequel of a trilogy. I haven’t read the others yet. Give it back, please.” Hermione pulled away and crossed her arms, her lips puckering into her signature soft pout.

He smirked. “And if I don’t?”

“Dean  Winchester , give me back my book. It was just getting good.”

“Aw come on, Herms.” He closed her book and  set it behind him. “Humor me.” Dean leaned in slightly and took his hand off the book just enough for Hermione to quickly move around him to get the book, but he was faster and tossed the book across the room. “I don’t think so.”

Hermione huffed. “Dean, why can’t  I read anymore?”

“Well, Hermione,” Dean hardly ever said her full name, so clearly, he was up to something. “I think you spend too much time with your nose in a book. You’re just like Belle from ‘ _ Beauty and the Beast’ _ , I worry I'll have to become Gaston to get any attention from you.” His smirk hadn’t moved from his dumb handsome face. 

“Dean.” Hermione sighed and started to smile. 

“Hermione?”

She jumped off the bed and Dean followed suit. He tackled her on the ground, just inches away from her book. “Dean!” Hermione laughed struggling under him. “You’re too heavy! Get off me!”

“That’s not what you normally say.” Dean chuckled darkly as he moved her  flyways from Hermione’s neck. He kissed the back of her neck, making her shiver lightly. 

“It’s different when you’re on my back.” She wiggled slightly, making him  growl in her ear. 

Dean stood up, pulling Hermione up with him, making her squeak slightly. “How’s this?” He pushed her up against a wall, pinning her there with her hands over her head. Dean started kissing Hermione’s neck again, nipping her lightly.

Her breathing quickened as he pressed against her. “ Dean... ” 

“Hm?” He paused just under Hermione’s ear.

“You’re hurting my  wrists... ”

Dean chuckled darkly again, letting go of her and stepping away to pull his shirt off. His toned torso, marked with the only tattoo he’d ever gotten, made Hermione reach out to glide her fingertips down to the button on his pants. It was a motion she made every time he took his shirt off, she couldn’t help herself. Dean took advantage of her momentary weakness to grab her by her hand again to toss her to on her stomach on the bed. Hermione didn’t struggle, she reveled in it. The roughness he  exhibited only came out when he was hunting, or in the bedroom with her. 

Dean had confessed to Hermione early into their entanglement that this was not his normal way of  handling a sexual relation. Hermione reassured him that she enjoyed the loss of control he had with her, just as much as she loved his tenderness.

Hermione could hear him unzipping his pants as she wiggled her behind for him, taunting him. She bit her lower lip as she heard his pants drop to the floor. Dean’s rough hands pushed under the bottom of her shirt softly, his thumbs making soft circles on either side of her spine. Hermione sighed softly as she closed her eyes, letting her guard down, so when Dean ripped her soft fabric shorts down, she gasped. Dean slowly, almost painfully slowly, moved his hands up her legs to the back of her thighs, then up her soft shapely ass. Hermione moaned quietly, pushing back against his hands in hopes to grind against his erection. He kissed the small of her back as one hand trailed down her backside again. Dean’s wandering hand found her folds and caressed them, bringing a moan from Hermione. He couldn’t help but tease her more, moving up and down, just barely putting his finger tip inside of her. Hermione wiggled, trying her best to push his finger inside of her, but to no avail. Dean put a little pressure on the small of her back to keep her in place.

“I don’t think so.” Dean had leaned up to whisper into Hermione's ear while still teasing her core. She whimpered softly, making Dean smile as he slowly inserted his index finger inside of her. He moaned, his erection twitching. “You are so wet for me. Should I just sink my cock into you? Is that what you want?” He slowly pumped his finger inside of her. 

“Dean, please...”

He slowly pushed his m iddle finger inside of her, drawing out a louder moan. “Please, what?” He couldn’t help himself from moving his hand faster.

“Dean, I want you to fuck me.” 

Dean’s movements were quick, too quick for Hermione to catch her breath, as he pulled his fingers out of her to thrust into her, the both of them moaning breathlessly. Dean pressed his fingertips into Hermione’s hips and started to move, slow at first. His movements aggravated Hermione. “Dean, please...” She was breathless as Dean started to pick up the pace. Hermione pushed back with every thrust, the slapping of skin becoming louder and louder as they moved. Hermione’s hand gripped the comforter as Dean’s fingernails bit into her skin.

“Hermione...” Dean had lost himself inside of her as he always did. She was his peace, his bliss, the one place he didn’t have to pretend to be anyone other than who he really was. 

They moved together, whispering each other's name, moaning breathlessly. Dean’s speed started to increase, making Hermione pant loudly. Hermione tossed her head back as Dean leaned back a little to hit her g-spot, making her eyes snap open, pushing her closer to the edge. 

“Ah, Dean, oh Dean, Dean, oh Dean, right there!” Her words tumbled out of her mouth as she became closer to an orgasm.

“Oh God Hermione, you’re squeezing me so tightly. I’m so  clo -”

Hermione orgasmed hard. It rocked through her body, making her walls tighten so much, Dean had to sink his dick into her so she wouldn’t push him out. “Oh my God, Hermione!” He was to climax along with her, coming inside of her.

They panted hard as Dean pulled out, making Hermione moan at the loss of being filled. He stepped back and swiped his shirt off of the ground. He knelt down to wipe the mess off of Hermione before he cleaned himself off. Hermione’s legs were shaking, so Dean helped her get into bed. Rarely did this strong, ferocious woman let herself become weak. But with Dean, she didn’t hide anything, unless she had to. Dean opened the mini fridge and pulled out two waters. He climbed into Hermione’s bed and opened one to hand to her. “Drink up babe.”

“ Mmm .” Hermione took the water, smiling  slightly but waited for him to open his before she  took a drink. “Are you going to stay the night?”

“I’ll stay until sunrise, like I always do.” He took a long drink, emptying the bottle. Dean pulled Hermione close  after she finished her water, her eyes fluttered to a close.

“I love you, Dean Winchester.”

“I love you too, Hermione Granger.” 


	7. Large Damn Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by the lovely IAmSorry__sendmeaprompt. Make sure to check them out!

Hermione woke up in her bed alone, the comforter pulled over her, and a folded note on the side table. She  reached for the note and flipped it open. 

_ Hermione,  _

_ You were sleeping so hard when I had to leave, I didn’t want to wake you up. It seems you needed to sleep just as bad as we did. I’m not sure about this mysterious friend of yours that we’re meeting up with, but you know I trust you. I’ll see you at breakfast. _

_ Love, Dean _

She yawned and stretched before rolling out of bed. She walked to the bathroom to do her business and spotted the coffee maker by the microwave. Hermione stopped to grab a water bottle from the mini fridge and filled up the back tank of the coffee pot. She found a packet of coffee and a liner and put them in their spots. Hermione turned on the machine to let it do its thing while she did hers. 

Once the coffee was brewed, Hermione found a cup next to the pot and poured the coffee. She took a sip and made a face. Bile welled up in the back of her throat making her set the cup down and rush to the bathroom.

Hermione brushed her teeth as there was a knock on her door. “I’m not decent!” Her mouth was full of toothpaste as the door opened. The minty taste was drowning out the throw up. 

“God, I hope so.” Dean’s voice came from the main room accompanied by a chuckle. He walked into the bathroom, spotting the untouched coffee. “You’re  gonna drink that stuff? Sammy couldn’t stand it. And he’ll drink just about any  kinda coffee.” Dean stepped into the bathroom just as Hermione was rinsing out her mouth. 

Hermione shrugged. “It smells good. Is it really that bad?” 

Dean snorted and kissed her on the back of her neck. “He spit it out. Said that it was stale. On the plus side, there’s a Sonic close by, so we can get some real coffee.”

Hermione leaned back against him and rolled her eyes. “You can’t call that coffee. That’s nothing more than dirt water.”

He laughed. “Then what would you  consider coffee?”

“Hmm..” Hermione thought for a moment. They didn’t allow themselves too many luxuries, it wasn’t part of the gig. Even with Hermione selling potions to the American Wizard world, bringing in lots of money, and Sam working under the table for a small hospital for small insurance claims, they were still being frugal. But sometimes, Hermione had to insist on a splurge. “There’s a big chain coffee shop if we backtrack a little?” Her voice was hopeful. She knew what the magic words were and decided to use them. “They have a bacon breakfast sandwich.”

“Okay, what’s the place?”

“Starbucks?”

She saw Dean scowl in the mirror. “That place is too frilly with their coffee. I just want a large coffee, is that too much to ask for?”

“Dean.” Hermione rolled her eyes. 

“Grande? Venti? I just want a large coffee. And when I tell them that, they look at me like I’m dumb or something.”

“ Bacon breakfast sandwich.” Hermione had to try again. She really wanted a Frappuccino.

“I can get one of those at Sonic with lots of other food, and a large damn coffee.”

Hermione turned around and kissed his nose. “We can get you a large damn coffee at Starbucks. Let me get dressed. Besides, I’m still  waiting on hearing from my friend.”

Dean grumbled slightly, but kissed her on the forehead. “ And I want it black so I can make it Irish.”

“ Of course you do.” Hermione smiled. “Now, are you going to stay in here while I get dressed, or are you going to leave?”

Dean pulled away and walked into the main room, with Hermione following and he sat down in the middle of the loveseat. “So, should I take out my wallet? I’ve got some singles if you want me to throw them for you.”

She laughed and threw a pillow at him. “Get out! You  insufferable prat!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dressed and in the Impala, the Winchesters and Hermione backtracked a little to Starbucks. Sam had sided with Hermione and told Dean he could get something else. Dean parked the Impala in the parking lot and got out with a scowl on his face.

“Dean,” Hermione got out of the  passenger seat and saw his face. “You don’t have to come inside with us.”

Sam about jumped out of the car, just as excited as Hermione for coffee that wasn’t from a  fast food restaurant. He started inside without waiting for Dean to get over himself. Dean grunted and leaned against Baby, making Hermione roll her eyes then follow Sam. 

“Hi! Welcome in!” Hermione was greeted with a warm smile from a few  baristas behind the counter as she joined Sam to look at the menu.

“Large black coffee?” 

Hermione nodded. “Maybe we should get him something new to mess with him.”

Sam smirked as he thought. “Well, if we weren’t meeting up with someone new, I’d say  definitely .”

Hermione had almost forgotten about that.  “You’re right.”

“I’m  gonna start to order.” Hermione nodded and Sam stepped up to the barista.

“Hi, what can I get ya’ll?” Her voice was thick like honey and made Hermione think of the demon that had held them before Crowley showed himself.

“Hey, let me get a Venti Almond Honey Flat Blond Espresso with the egg white and roasted pepper egg bites.”

“Okay.” The brunette girl started to punch in the  information . “Anything else for  ya’ll ?”

Sam looked at Hermione and she stepped up. “Can I get a Venti Black Dark Roast Coffee with the double-smoked bacon sandwich and a Chocolate Cookie Crème Frap with a cheese danish, please.”

“Oh my gosh. Are you, like, from London?” The girl had stopped putting in Hermione’s order. 

“Erm, yea...” 

“Oh my gosh! It’s so beautiful!” The girl started to babble about Hermione’s accent. Hermione smiled but backed up slightly behind Sam. Being the center of attention brought back too many issues for her. The girl continued to talk until her manager reminded her that she needed to finish helping them. Sam took over, seeing how uncomfortable Hermione was.

Hermione’s phone rang. She  looked at the number but didn’t recognize it. “Hello?”

“This is Abraxas. Smile and tell the Winchester that it’s your friend.”

Hermione smiled as Sam turned around, eyebrow quirked. “It’s Philip, the friend we’re meeting.” Sam nodded and turned away, letting Hermione slip off to the Ladies’ room.

“I apologize for not being able to present myself sooner, I have had more trouble trying to find a new meat suit than I had anticipated.”

“It’s alright. It’s given the boys and  myself time to rest.”

“Yes, we are on a time limit, so I don’t believe any more rest would be wise. I see the elder Winchester in the parking lot. Once you and the younger Winchester exit the coffee shop, I will present myself to you all. Save this number in your phone. Tell the Winchesters that I am on the way.”

He hung up before Hermione could respond. She frowned slightly before becoming nauseated. Hermione opened a stall door to vomit more bile. She sighed and wiped her mouth with a bit of toilet paper before flushing. Hermione took out a toothbrush and tooth paste she kept in her purse and brushed her teeth before washing her hands.

Sam was waiting in the  lobby for Hermione with their drinks and food. “All good?”

She smiled  and nodded. “Philip said he’s going to meet us here shortly.” 

Sam nodded and turned to walk outside, Hermione in  tow . 

Dean was still leaning against the Impala. He had taken off his leather jacket and put on a pair of sunglasses. He looked up from his phone. “Got your frilly drinks? Can we go?”

Sam set the cup holder and bag of food down on the hood of the Impala and shook his head. “Hermione’s friend told her that he was going to meet us here, so we have to wait. Besides, we don’t know where to go without him.” Sam handed Dean his large black coffee then Hermione her Frappuccino. Dean pulled the lid off of his coffee and took a sip before pulling his flask out of his shirt pocket. He set down his coffee to open his flask, took a drink, and poured a good bit into his coffee. Dean smirked as Sam started to pull out the food. Hermione took a quick sip of her drink, hoping it would stay down. She was having problems with that recently. Pleased that it did, Hermione took a longer drink as Dean took a drink. 

Sam took a bit of his egg bites and looked around. “Hermione, what does your guy look like?”

Hermione sighed and shrugged; she knew this was coming. “I’m not sure. It’s been ages since I Philip and he likes to change up his look a lot. The last time I saw him, he had long blonde hair. And before that, short brown hair.”

Sam jutted his chin out behind Hermione. “Is that him, walking  towards us?”

Hermione turned and went cold. A tall man with long platinum blonde hair. She could see his blue grey eyes from across the parking lot. He wasn’t dressed how she  remembered , and was missing his signature cane, but Hermione could have screamed seeing him.

“Hermione, it’s good to see  ya .” There wasn’t a discernible accent from the man’s mouth. Hermione pushed a smile to her face as the man drew nearer. “And you’ve brought friends.” The man stopped a few feet away, noticing how still Hermione had become. He held out a hand to Dean. “Philip Harrison.”

Dean shook his hand and nodded. “Dean Winchester. This is my brother Sam.” Sam shook the man's  hand. “How exactly do you know Hermione?” Dean was ever the  sceptic . Hermione didn’t have friends, at least none that she ever talked about.

Philip continued to smile. “I know her back from London. I worked at a shop she frequented after the War. A small bookshop. We became friends. And, when she confided in me that she was tired of the limelight of ‘The Golden Trio’, I told her of my time here in America and the possibilities for a young witch with her talents. When she sent word that she had found supernatural creatures that were being hunted, I warned her of the dangers and that they weren’t the same creatures we had in England. Yet, she pursued, and said she wanted to help them.” He chuckled slightly. Their lie was air tight. All he needed was to close it. Philip took a deep breath. “And when she found out that I was right, she did what she had always done, the right thing. Even if that meant killing.” He grimaced on the last word. He was very good.

Dean crossed his arms as Sam chuckled. “That’s definitely our Hermione. So,” Sam took a drink of his coffee. “What’s the details about this werewolf pack?”

“Well, I’d offer to buy you all some coffee to talk about this over, but it seems that would be a bit  redundant .” Philip chuckled.

Dean grunted. Clearly, he wasn’t sold on Philip.

Hermione cleared her throat. “Well,  Malf -my friend, why don’t you get yourself some coffee and we’ll meet you in there?”

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been in one of these. Hermione, will you help me get a  plain coffee?”

Hermione nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

The two  of them walked off, leaving Sam and Dean to talk.

“ Well that was  exactly as I expected it to go. However, your meat suit is a little too close to home.”

“My apologies, ma’am. I figured that this meat suit would be more appropriate for our lie. It’s a face that you know.”

“I know that face a little too well.” Hermione sighed. “All lies bare some truth and ours has a good bit of it.”

They order Abraxas, or Philip  rather, a large black coffee. Just as Philip and Hermione sat down, the boys walked in to sit with them. 

“So.” Dean folded his hands on the table  in front of him. “The werewolf  pack ?”

Philip took a drink and nodded. “They've been terrorizing the citizens of Van Horn for three months now. I thought I had wiped them out, but it seems they have several small packs scattered around. I’ve had a few hunters help me out, but all I got was more information.”

“And what  information did you get?” Sam leaned in.

“There’s an Alpha there. He-”

“How do you know the Alpha is a male?” Hermione knew the  information of the Alpha being male was correct, but she couldn’t help but interject.

Philip chuckled. “Okay then. Let’s get politically correct about it. The Alpha is plotting something. They-” He looked at Hermione who smiled slightly. “are plotting something. We think it’s a mass take over. We think that they’re trying to take over Texas. Every full moon, they take five men and five women.” He pulled out a map that and areas circled. He began to point at the circled areas and name them. “The Van Horn RV Park, then here at East Cactus street, Almond street, Maple street, and East Desert street, here at Houston street, West 7 th street, Texas Mountain Trail, and East 6 th street, and here at Bell street, West 4 th street, West 3 rd street, and Leon street; people have been taken. But here, here at Fannin street, West 11 th street, West 9 th street, and Texas Mountain Trail; we think this is where the Alpha is. There are killing, but they are so sporadic we can’t trace them. We can’t find a pattern. They kill without guidance, without care.”

The boys scowled as they eyed the map, not sure what to make of it. “So, this Alpha, he- I mean they are building an army?” Sam ran a hand through his hair as he sighed.

“That’s what we think.”

Dean stood up. “Well then, what the hell are we still doing here?  Let's load up.”


	8. She Has A Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is out late. My kid and I got sick, and my beta has finals. But, IAmSorry__sendmeaprompt still beta'd. Thank ya'll for waiting

Dean, Hermione, and Sam drove in Baby behind Philip in his white 2012 Chevy Tahoe LTZ. Dean had his typical music in the cassette player and sang along, Sam sat in the backseat researching the disappearances in Van Horn, and Hermione sat reading one in a new spell book. Dean didn’t like her reading them, they had a heated argument over her book when the ride started. Sam had the final say on it, telling Dean to grow up and get over himself.

_ ‘If done properly, this incantation will help you track and trace any person, so long as you have a lock of hair. In the hands of the experienced witch, this is a powerful spell. The spell requires a potion to be  _ _ brewed _ _ four days before a new moon-’ _

“Sam, when is the next new moon?”

Hermione heard quick typing behind her. “In... Five days.”

“Good. Thank you”

“Why?”

“I think I have a way to help us find this Alpha. I think. I’m not sure yet.” Sam grunted and went back to his research without another comment. Hermione saw Dean frowning out of the corner of her eyes. Wanting to avoid another confect, she kept her mouth shut. However, her bladder had other ideas. Her phone vibrated on her leg, making her jump. Hermione looked around her book and saw it was Philip. She answered it and  put it on speaker. “ Hey Philip, you’re on speaker.”

Dean turned down the radio and Sam closed his laptop. “Hey, we’re coming up to Big Spring, it’s our halfway point. I figured we could stop, eat, and fuel up. My tank is getting a little low, and we’re about ten minutes away from it.”

Dean looked at the gas gauge and nodded. “Yea, that sounds like a great idea. I know I’m getting hungry.”

“Okay then. We’ll get off the Highway and head into Big Spring.” Philip hung up the phone and Dean turned the radio back up. Hermione was grateful for his phone call. She could wait ten minutes. Her phone buzzed again from a text. She looked at it. 

‘ _ Make sure you get something to eat while we’re there. You need to keep up your strength.’  _ It buzzed again. ‘ _ There’s also a small wizarding village where you can collect what you need for that potion.’ _

Hermione’s brow furrowed. She had no idea how he knew about the potion, and that was concerning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ‘67 Impala and ‘12 Tahoe pulled off of Interstate 20. There was a truck stop on the corner that Philip turned into, and Dean followed suit.

“Country Pride?” Sam scoffed. “At least there’s a subway  nearby .”

“Aw come on Sammy,  branch out a little. Aren’t you tired of those yet?”

“Aren’t you tired of  eating your weight in meat soaked in grease? That stuff has  gotta be clogging your arteries man. It’s  gonna be your undoing.”

Dean laughed. “Listen, if I die from clogged arteries, I think I got the better end of the deal from  being a hunter .”

Hermione rolled her eyes. They had this conversation a lot. At first, she tried to chime in and agree with Sam, but after all of the horrors she saw,  she knew Dean would get the better end of it.

The two  vehicles pulled up to the truck stop and everyone got out.

“I’ll be back, I have to use the restroom!” Hermione made a dash inside Country Pride to the Ladies’ room. 

Once in a closed stall, she pulled out her phone to look up the wizarding village. Although purebloods couldn’t use modern technology, some half-bloods and all muggle  borns were able to. Being able to do so helped the wizarding community come back together. Witches and wizards outside of Europe didn’t feel the power of Voldemort, but each continent had been rocked by both wars.  So because of that, muggle  borns and half-bloods came together to make a mobile app. It was just a map, but you could type in your zip code and a shimmer emoji would appear for every wizarding community that was nearby. 

Hermione found the Wizarding community just off of Highway North 87. It was a small community, but she hoped they had everything she needed.

Hermione came out of the bathroom to the three men sitting in the dining room of Country Pride. Sam with a sandwich from Subway, Philip with a patty melt and fries, Dean with a chicken fried steak with a large plate of fries, an empty seat with a burger and fries. Hermione could see jalapenos poking out of the side and hot sauce dripping off of them. Spicy food had become her craving. She’d heard an old  wives tale that eating too much spicy food gave babies red hair. Wouldn’t that be an interesting thing to explain. They were talking strategies when Hermione walked up.

“Hey Herms.” Dean had seen her first. “Your friend was just telling us about how there’s a wizard village  nearby that you’re  gonna look into.”

Hermione sat down and nodded. “I’m hoping to find it and get the ingredients I need.” They sat in silence for a moment as they ate. “I could use some com-”

“I’ll come.” Sam didn’t hesitate and Hermione couldn’t help but smile. He had been dying to learn more about her world, no matter how much Dean hated it.

Hermione smiled slightly as she ate a  french fry. “I guess that means Dean and I are going to get acquainted.” Philip  sounded a little bit too chipper, making them finish eating in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam and Hermione took Philip’s truck as Dean and Philip stayed behind to gather other supplies. 

“You know,” Dean had confined Philip to the backseat, so Philip leaned on the back of the front seat to talk to Dean. “I’ve known Hermione for a long time. I know some things about her that would shock even you, the famous Dean  Winchester .” He smiled slightly.

Dean scoffed. “Oh yea? Like what? Have you seen the terror in her eyes when large groups of people come around? Or have you heard her screams in the middle of the night as she claws at her arm? Have you seen all of her scars? Anything you think I didn’t know is wrong.”

Philip sat back and laughed. The rest of the drive was  quiet , but Dean couldn’t help but wonder what Philip knew. They stopped at a pharmacy to get medical supplies, and a few other places for food on the drive, and they stopped at an antique store to pick up some silver. The two men didn’t speak to each other again until they were on the way back to Country Pride, and Philip broke the silence.

“She  has a secret .”

“What?” Dean looked in the back seat, he still didn’t want the stranger next to him.

“Hermione. She has a  secret she’s keeping from you. Everyone knows but you.”

“Knows what?”

Philip didn’t respond, only sat back in his seat and scrolled through his phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione and Sam headed North on Highway 87, towards a forest.

“Hermione, this app says I won’t be able to see the village.” Sam frowned slightly.

Hermione shrugged slightly as she drove. “I’m not sure how this works,  it's been a long time since I’ve been to a place like this. Typically, non-wizards can't see wizarding places, get confused, and leave.  But, I think if I put a  Confundus Charm on you, it’ll be fine.”

Sam nodded slowly, not understanding but accepting.

They didn’t drive for very long before Hermione turned down a dirt road. She could see the shimmering of the cloaking spell. “Do you see  the shimmering?”

Sam was wide eyed. “I see it, but I’m not sure I believe it.”

Hermione laughed. “After all of  the things you’ve seen me do, this is the thing you don’t believe?” Sam laughed as Hermione stopped. She turned to Sam and pulled out her wand. “Sam, I need you to sit very still for me, and close your eyes. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Sam nodded. “I trust you, Hermione.” Sam closed his eyes and Hermione pointed her wand at him.

“ Confundo ...” It was just a whisper. “Keep your eyes closed as I drive through.” Sam nodded and Hermione started to drive again, slowly.  She knew Sam wouldn’t open his eyes, she just wanted to make sure nothing happened.

Once they were through the barrier, Hermione’s senses were filled.  She could smell the baked goods and could hear the  owls . She stopped the truck and turned it off. 

“Hermione?”

“You can open  your eyes, Sam. We’ll have to walk from here. The truck won’t work.”

Sam opened his eyes. He didn’t see  much, his vision was still blurry. He could make out the bright lights.

“It’s  going to take a few seconds for you to  be able to see again. We’ll sit here until you can.”

“What’s that smell?”

“I think it’s... cheese kolaches? Maybe cauldron cakes?” Hermione smiled. The thought of cauldron cakes  made her nostalgic.

“I think I can see again.”

“Let’s wait just a little longer.” Hermione had to blink back tears. She was starting to miss home, her friends, her family. Hermione touched her stomach. This was something she  knew she could never have back home.

“Hermione?” Sam blinked a few  times , his eyes focusing. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and looked away, moving her hand.

Sam saw her hand just as his vision came back, but didn’t say anything. He knew about Dean and  Hermione, he also knew they were keeping it a secret. Sam honored that  by not commenting on the fact that he knew she was pregnant. Dean might not, but he did. He noticed it right away when her appetite changed. He looked away to give her a private moment and was awestruck at the sight around him. “Hermione, is that person... are they?”

Hermione turned to look and laughed. A wizard was leading a small child around on a toy broom, the child bobbed up and down as they ate what looked like crackling cotton candy. “Come on.” She opened her door and Sam followed. His head was on a  swivel as they walked around. “We have some time before Dean and Philip expect us back, why don’t we  sight see a little before we pick up ingredients? Maybe get some snacks for the road?”

Sam nodded eagerly then stopped. “Wait, how are we  gonna pay for all of this?”

Hermione pulled out her purple purse out of her pocket and looked inside. “I think I have American wizarding money. If not, I’m sure I can get the money exchanged out. But first,” she pointed her wand at herself and changed her  facial features and her hair. Sam quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t want to be noticed. While we’re here, please call me Norma.”

Sam frowned slightly. “Won’t they still be  suspicious of your accent?”

Hermione shook her head. “British wizards have started to travel more. I don’t think there will be a problem.”

They both opened their doors and got out. Sam couldn’t help but look around and take as much as he could in. He pulled on Hermione’s sleeve as they walked, pulling her attention to every new sight.

“Norma! What is that?”

She laughed and pulled Sam away. It had been a long time since she was this happy, and Sam could say the same. It was a whole new world for Sam, and no matter how much research he did, he still wanted to learn more. They did a lap before going inside any shops. They wandered in and out of places before Sam stopped them.

“Norma, what is that?”

Hermione looked at the sign. “It says deep fried, bacon covered, fizzing Whizzebee topped cinnamon roll.” She made a face. “Sounds like a heart attack.”

“Sounds like something Dean would eat. And be  jealous that I tried and he didn’t.”

Hermione laughed and ordered two. The man at the booth accepted her British money, no questions asked. Hermione waited for Sam to take the first bite. He did so  tentatively .

“Oh my gosh, Norma, you have to try this.”

She laughed and took a bite just as Sam started to float a few inches off of the ground. It was greasy, savory, and sweet. “Oh wow...” Hermione floated a few inches off of the ground. The fizzing Whizzbees crackled in their mouths as they floated back to the ground. 

“We have to try more foods!” Sam wasn’t one to indulge in anything  unhealthy , but Hermione wasn’t going to remind him of that until afterwards. They walked around buying food from every shop, every booth, and every stand before Hermione looked at her watch.

“We need to circle back and get supplies and food for Dean and Philip.”

Sam nodded as he took a bite of a licorice wand.

They walked back the center of the village and into Mordred’s Apothecary. An old man sat behind the counter. He had long greasy black hair, shining grey eyes, a pointed nose, a thin frame covered by a large black cloak, his frame seemed small and hunched. “Welcome. How may I help you?” He had a warm southern drawl that felt like  molasses and warmed your insides like a fresh biscuit.

“Erm, I’m in need of some ingredients. Three cabbage leaves, eight celery seeds, two sticks of cinnamon, a whole clove, one dandelion root, one St John's Wart blossom, seven thyme leaves, four bat’s wings, ten cat whiskers, one eye of newt, erm eleven tongue of dog, one swamp rat spleen, and a hair from a banshee please.”

The man nodded and walked away into the back room. The two heard banging sounds that made Sam nervous. He looked around  and shifted from one foot to the other. “He-Norma, are you sure we couldn’t get some of these things from other places?” His voice was just a whisper.

Hermione shook her head and whispered back, “This has to be the place. There isn’t another place for me to get these  ingredients unless we go all the way out to El Paso, and I don’t think Dean will be  okay with us going that far.” 

Sam frowned as the man came back out. “I have everything except eight celery seeds. I have to sell you ten, but I won't charge you for the extra two.” The man smiled showing his teeth, all of them perfect little Chiclets.

Hermione chuckled slightly out of  nervousness, the man gave her the chills. “Thank you.”

“Anything for the famous Hermione Granger.”

Hermione and Sam gasped  audibly . “How did you-”

The man laughed loudly and straightened up to his full height, looking Sam in the eye. “Please,” His voice losing its southern drawl and slipped perfectly into a sharp Angelo-Saxon accent. His vowels elongated. “Like I wouldn't know one of the most famous witches to come from home. You, who could have single handedly defeated Voldemort if Harry wasn’t so hell bent on doing it all himself.” The man smiled. “It is an absolute pleasure to meet you.”

Hermione stepped away from Sam to look at the man. She blinked and his glamor charm fell as well as her own. “You  _ are Mordred _ . I- what an honor it is to meet you.” Her face  turned bright red.

Mordred walked around the counter, his cloak  falling with a  flourish . “Now, what is it you need a locator potion for, Miss Granger?”

“An Alpha werewolf.”

“Well now, that’s an interesting thing to look for.” He waved a hand, making three chairs appear. “Please, sit. I’m sure all of this  podunk food is wrecking your systems.” Mordred gestured to the chairs. Hermione sat but Sam stayed where he stood. The elder wizard sighed. “I mean you no harm, hunter. I promise. Just wanting to make sure the last witch of any  aptitude is safe. This woman is an absolute prodigy, and I for one am proud to be in the same room as her.”

Hermione couldn’t help but blush again. “I thought anyone outside of Britain had almost no idea of what happened.”

Mordred shook his head, frowning at Sam who didn’t move. “ Oh they have basically no idea of the hell that was Voldemort, but I always kept tabs on the brightest lights of that dingy place called Hogwarts. Now, why are you looking for an Alpha?”

Hermione told Mordred the same reason she was looking for the Alpha as she told the boys. Mordred didn’t believe her, but he didn’t let on. Clearly there was a good reason that Hermione was lying to him, and Mordred respected that.

“Well then.” The man stood up and Hermione followed, making the chairs disappear. “Let’s get you on your way.” Hermione attempted to pay, but he refused her money. “Come back and see me when you’re done, Miss Granger.” He smiled. “I think you’d be wonderful company for tea.” And as suddenly as his  apperance and accent had changed, it went back to the wizened old man with the molasses thick drawl. “Now,  ya’ll get on outta here and stay safe.” Mordred sat back behind his counter and hunched over the large tome that appeared in front of him.

Sam didn’t speak as they went back to get food for Dean and Philip, he didn’t speak when they got back into the truck, or when they got back on the road. “Sam, say something.”

“Was that, Mordred as in, Morgana and Merlin Mordred?”

Hermione nodded.

“How long do witches and wizards live for?!”


	9. Restaurant Buffet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long break! I took off longer than I meant to. I hope y'all had a good holiday season! I won't be posting this weekend, but I'll be back to normal posting next weekend! Much love to y'all!

Dean and Philip were waiting for Hermione and Sam for about twenty minutes, and Dean was starting to get  impatient . He checked his watch and huffed. 

“They should’ve been back by now.”

Philip leaned against the hood of Baby and smoked a sixth cigarette. Dean noted he looked like a train engine with all of the smoke coming from him. “That'll be back soon enough. Why are you so concerned? Are you  gonna confront Hermione about her secret?” He smiled, his mouth a little too wide.

Dean scowled deeply and turned away. He didn’t believe a word that came out of Philip’s mouth. There was something not right about him, and Dean couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Just as Philip’s truck pulled up, Dean pushed off of the side of the Impala to greet them.

Hermione looked to Sam in the truck. “Please don’t tell them about Mordred.”

Sam furrowed his brow and looked back at her. “Wha- why not?”

“He’s old, and very dangerous. The fact that he let you stand and didn’t make you sit was an act of grace on his part. I’ve heard stories of him striking men down for just a glance out of the corner of their eye. You and I both  know -”

“Dean would go after him because he’s a powerful wizard and things like that shouldn’t live.” Sam turned away and nodded. “That’s what we’re supposed to do. Kill the supernatural, the unusual, and the dangerous.” It was how John had raised them, who they were supposed to be, and Sam hated it. Hermione sighed as she parked the truck. Sam got out first and was met with loud complaints from Dean.

“Took you two long enough. Did you  get lost?”

“No.” Hermione got out of the truck as Sam opened the passenger back door. “But we did bring back some treats.” 

Sam pulled out a large cake box bottom with two others on top. “We brought some back for you and Philip. Dean, the food is  incredible !”

“Just split everything and let’s go.”

Hermione frowned and opened her mouth, but Philip spoke first. “Why don’t we split up for the drive? I’m sure Hermione could use a break from you two and drive with me.”

“No.” Sam saw Dean’s face and knew a fight would break out if Hermione agreed. “I’ll ride with you, Philip. I’m sure Dean will want a full  explanation of the food, and I’ not sure I can explain it other than what everything is called.”

Philip took a hit off of his cigarette and flicked it away from him with his middle finger and thumb. “Alright then, let’s load up Sam.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione and Dean drove in silence; the food sat untouched. She tried to drum up conversation with him, asking about what he and Philip got, what they talked about, she even tried to entice him with the food, telling him she could warm it up to the same temperature it was when it was fresh. All to no avail. His answers were short, his tone was angry, and she couldn’t help but think it was her fault.

“Dean, what’s-”

“What are you hiding from me?”

Hermione  sat, mouth open slightly. Did he know? If he did, then how? Did Philip tell him? Why would he tell Dean?

“-and if you can’t trust me to tell me, why  should we continue our nightly meetings?”

“Meeting? Is that what they are to you? Just meeting up with me?” Hermione turned to  face him in her seat. “Am I just another girl to you?” Granted, Hermione didn’t hear the first part Dean had said and now she wasn’t sure she wanted to, especially if he was accusing her of something.

“Hermione,” he sighed. “That’s not what I meant.”

“No? Because that’s what you said. Say what you mean, Dean. You called our nights meetings, like they don’t mean anything to you, like I don’t mean anything to you.”

“You know that you mean something to  me- ”

“Something? Just something? Not anything specifically?”

He threw a hand up in frustration. “Do you want a label then? I  thought you were against labels, that’s why we were keeping this a secret, to keep from putting a label on it.”

“No, I wanted to keep us a secret because otherwise, Sam would be a third wheel, and-”

“Sam  _ is _ the third wheel, Hermione. He’s my brother and my hunting partner. He’s even brought it up before that I’d there's something between you and I, that I should just tell him. He said it wouldn't be weird or anything for him, that he’d be happy for us.”

“Okay, great.  So tell him then.” Hermione turned away from Dean to look out of the window.

“Great. I will.”

They sat in a tense silence for a few miles, stewing in their own thoughts, until Dean finally spoke.

“I wouldn’t tell you that I love you if you didn’t mean anything to me, if our nightly meet ups didn’t mean anything to me. You might have started off as ‘just a girl’ to me, but you aren’t anymore. You haven’t been for awhile now. You mean a lot to me.”

“I’ve never been against  labels , just weary of them...”

“Why though?”

“Because of my old life.”

“You never talk  about your old life.”

“You’ve never asked...”

“Well, I’m asking now.”

Hermione snorted  slightly .

“Okay, please will you tell me why is it because of your old life you’re weary of labels?”

She breathed in deeply, letting out a labored sigh. “My last boyfriend, really my first boyfriend, was my childhood best friend.” Hermione explained her relationship to Ron, it wasn’t something she like to talk about or even think about anymore. “-and one day, I woke up next to him, and realized I didn’t want to be there anymore. Be there next to him, be a public figure anymore, work for the government anymore.

I left a note, packed my things, and stayed in a room over the local bar, working there in disguise with a fake name. I even told him where I’d be, and it took him almost three months to come find me. And even when he did, it took him another month to get the courage to talk to me. And when he did talk to me, he yelled at me. He was angry that left, angry I didn’t try to talk to him, angry that I could do something like that to him, angry that I wouldn’t be the good little housewife that he wanted. Someone that would be just like his mother, not that there was anything wrong with his mother. She raised seven children, cooked all of the meals, cleaned the house, darned all of their cloths. Molly is, was, a damn good woman, mother, and wife. But that's not me. It could never be me. I... helping people is all I’ve ever known since I was eleven.” 

Hermione paused to rest her arm on the door and her head in her hand. “I like helping. That’s why I took a role in the government back home... But Ron didn’t understand. How could he? Everything I did, everything I am, goes against all he knows.  So I told him to never come see me. That I never wanted to see him again. After that, I left home and came to America. I told myself that anyone I became entangled with would understand that I am fiercely independent and I can make my own way.” She fell quiet again, letting Dean soak that in.

They sat like that for two miles. “Ron sounds like a dick.”

Hermione laughed. “Yes, he can be.  But, he could also be very sweet. But  stubborn as hell. More so than you.”

Dean chuckled lightly. “Hermione,”

Her phone rang, it was Sam. She answered it and put it on speaker. “Yes, Sam?”

“We’re an hour out. Did you guys need to stop? We’re good to keep  going .”

“Let’s just keep going.” He looked at her, and Hermione nodded. 

“Yes, if we’re only an  hour out, I’d rather just get there and set up. As it is, I’ll need to call in for our rooms.”

“Okay then. We’ll see you guys there.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long day driving, and the four of them had finally reached the Holiday Inn & Suites in Van Horn.

“I’m fucking tired.” Dean stepped out of the Impala and  stretched his back then yawned. “Herms, for the love of hotels, please tell me you got us the good rooms.”

Hermione pulled herself out of the car and laughed, sleepily. “Now he likes the four star stays. Yes Dean, I made sure we had the best rooms in budget.”

Sam leaned against Philip’s truck as he looked on his phone. “Restaurant buffet tonight?”

“ Oh my Merlin, yes!” Hermione perked up. Restaurant buffet was when they called in a small bulk order from four to six local restaurants and ate until they fell asleep. It was always fun to try new foods and  and compare foods. “While you look, I’ll go check us in.” Hermione started off towards the lobby.

“I’ll come with you.” Philip followed Hermione a few paces behind. “You know,” he whispered for only her to hear. “Dean has the right to know. What if something happens to him or to you while we look for the Alpha? Sam already suspects.”

Hermione made a face. “Nothing is going to happen.” 

“But if something does?”

Hermione turned to face him as they entered the lobby and hissed, “Nothing will happen. Now stop it. I thought you were supposed to be helping me?”

“I am trying to help.”

“Hi there. Can I help  ya’ll ?” A young man stood behind the counter, smiling. His red hair had a slight curl to it, and lay just on the nape of his neck. There was stubble on his face probably a few days without a shave, his eyes were a dull blue but still somehow sparkled under the harsh light in the hotel lights. He wore a plain black shirt and she could see both of his arms were covered in tattoos, his smile was warm and a little too  inviting .

“Hello. I’ve booked three rooms under the name Myrtle Brooks.”

The man typed away on his computer for a moment,  giving Hemione a chance to look at his name tag that read Charlie. It gave her a slight pain in her heart and made her miss home for the first time in a long time. “Alrighty,  Ms Brooks, I’ve got a king, two queens, and a  standard rooms for you, it that okay?”

“Yes, that is perfect.”

“Good, each room comes with a phone for a full room service. We have a fully stocked kitchen so if there's  anythin ’ food that  ya’ll will be  wanten ’ at any time, just have a call down. Each room has a fancy little one cup coffee machine with coffee and mugs, a mini fridge, a microwave, a smart TV with all  them streamin ’ apps, an AC unit, a fully furnished bathroom, an’ a desk. We offer a commentary breakfast each  mornin ’ at 8 that lasts until 11. We  ain’t got many restaurants ‘round here, but I am happy to offer some suggestions to  ya’ll ifn ya need it.”

“Thank you, but I don’t think we will.”

“ Well alrighty then ma’am. Please feel free to call down to the front desk  ifn ya’ll need anythin’, my name’s Charlie,” he pointed at the name tag Hermione had already observed. He pulled out three key card packets. “The room numbers are on the front of the cards. Ya’ll have a great stay with us and get  ya’lls selves a good night sleep.”

Hermione took the card packets  and thanked him then walked out, Philip following. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam, Dean and Hermione sat on the king size bed, food sprawled out on the bed and on the desk. They had pizzas from El Tomate, burritos from Mom’s Kitchen, and a whole buffet of food from Van Horn Cattle Company. They even had desert from the last one in the mini fridge. Restaurant buffet night was costly, but they ate off of the food for several days.

“Sam, pass me more of that salmon.”

“Eat some of the green beans, or something green.” Sam handed him the large  takeaway container that had one and a half salmon filets left.

Dean grunted as he took the half piece. “You eat your rabbit  food, I'll eat the man food.”

Hermione elbowed Dean in the ribs. “Eat your greens, Winchester. We’re eating healthy while still enjoying our food. None of that toxic masculinity  business .”

Dean smirked and took one of the three pieces of corn. “I’m eating it, I'm eating it.”

The three enjoyed their feast watching various Disney movies. Philip had declined to eat with them. Hermione thought it was because as a demon, he didn’t eat. In reality, he was checking in with Crowley.

Abraxas stood in the center of the room with an ugly gold chalice in his hands, red, thick liquid swirling and bubbling inside. His eye black were as the smoke that filled the corporeal body. 

“Yes, I made this kill look like a werewolf kill.”

The liquid bubbled, Crowley’s voice echoed in his head. ‘ _ Good. And have they found him yet?’ _

_ “ _ No, we’ve only just  arrived .”

‘ _ But you did send her to Mordred? To put fear in her?’ _

_ “ _ I sent her to him yes, but she didn’t come back afraid, she came back with a fire in her eyes. Are you sure that was the  right thing to do?”

‘ _ Are you questioning the King of Hell?’ _

_ “ _ No Sir, just worried she  won't bend to your will like you’re expecting her to.”

The syrup-like liquid bubbled, making a large bubble pop. ‘ _ And what about the seeds of doubt in Dean?’ _

_ “ _ Oh they’re there. Hermione and Dean had an explosive fight.”

‘ _ And what are you doing about Moose?’ _

_ “ _ Um... no. Was I supposed to?” The bubbles stilled, making Abraxas  able to see himself in the liquid. “Sir?”

‘ _ No. Focus on making the rift between Dean and Hermione. Drive Dean back to Sam and be Hermione’s closest confidant.  _ _ Wherever _ _ she goes, you go. Always remind her of the witchlet and to protect him. And when it comes time, make sure the Alpha kills Dean.’  _

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

Hermione was the first to wake up. Sam laid on the fainting couch, well you couldn’t call it laying so much as falling off of the small half couch, Dean was spread eagle at the foot of the bed, and Hermione was sitting up at the head of the bed. They ate as much food as they could last night but had to finally give up, putting some of it in Hermione’s mini fridge and the rest in the  boy's mini ridge. Hermione groaned and gently kicked Dean as she got out of bed. “Up. You stink.” 

She got out of the bed by Sam and nudged his head that was on the floor with her foot. “You too.” Hermione shuffled off to the bathroom, grabbing her toiletries and a change of clothes. Surprisingly, after binge eating all of that food, she wasn’t sick this morning. She brushed her teeth, showered, and  put on clean clothes. By the time she had stepped out of the bathroom, Sam was gone and Dean was just starting to wake up. She bent down and kissed him. “Wake up, Dean.” He groaned and rolled  over onto a plastic  wrapper . “Dean.” Hermione chuckled and tapped on his head gently with a finger.

“I’m up, I’m up.” He  grumbled and sat up slowly. “Ugh, how much did we eat?”

Hermione sat down and giggled slightly. “We ate enough to feed a small army.”

Dean burped and made a face. “Oh my God, I need to brush my teeth.” He stood up, kissed Hermione, and left to go clean up.

This gave Hermione time to clean up the mess from last night, and set up work for her potion on the desk. She only ever used her wand when it called for it for potion making, otherwise, she did everything manually. From the preparation of ingredients, to cleaning up, to washing out her cauldron. Even making the fire. She pulled out her book, making it levitate  nearby , and started to unpack her  ingredients , her mortar and pestle, cutting board and knife, and cauldron. 

Hermione loved to make potions. She loved the methodical way of cutting and mashing things. The way you had to stir something an exact number of times for a specific time. The way the ingredients smelled as they were prepared and then cooked. The feel of each ingredient in her hand before she let it fall  into the cauldron. It was a romantic thing, potion making.

As Hermione put the cabbage leaves on the windowsill to dry them out, there was a knock on the door. “Come in.” She picked up eight of the ten celery seeds and  poured them into her mortar.

Philip opened the door, coffee in hand. “Well now, it looks like you three had a grand time last night.” He walked over to Hermione’s coffee machine and began to prepare her one.

“Mmm, yes.” She barely heard him as she cut the two cinnamon sticks to grind them with the celery seeds.

“Did you need help with the potion? I’ve been  known to make excellent potions.” He added cream to the coffee, and just a little sugar.

“No, this is something I like to do alone. But thank you.” Hermione put the clove in, glanced at her book, then  began to move the pestle clockwise over the herbs before grinding them.

Philip set the coffee next to Hermione then sat himself down on the small couch Sam had slept on. “This will be done by the full moon?”

“Yes...” Hermione crumbed the dandelion root by hand then sprinkled it  into the mortar. “Luckily, I have  enough water from the New Moon to use for this, however, why there’s a banshee hair for a locator potion...” She trailed off, frowning as she watered the dry mixture with the water. 

He stood up and walked over to her to look at the book. “Hmm... You’d  know more about it than I would. Have you eaten yet?”

Hermione shook her head as she muttered under her breath softly and dropped the St. John’s Wort blossom into the paste. The mixture loosened and changed from a muddy black to vibrant yellow. She nodded, satisfied with it, and poured the liquid into a crystal vial. She took it over to the cabbage leaves, it needed to sit for a day to turn golden, then started to pack everything up.

“Hermione, you didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear it.” Even though she didn’t need most of the things she took out, she still  meticulously put everything back.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No. I got to work on this right after Dean  left the room.”

“Why did you wait so long?”

She paused as she held the small plastic bag that held the banshee hair. “He... he doesn’t like it when I preform witchcraft.”

“Really?” Philip  raised his eyebrows. “And you’ve been with them for how long?”

Hermione sighed and shook her head. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

Philip frowned and opened his mouth to protest just as there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Hermione tapped the cauldron that held all of her ingredients with her wand, making it shrink small enough to put into her duffle bag. Dean burst into the room with Sam in tow. “This coffee is shit. Have you tried it yet, Herms? Oh, morning Philip.” 

Sam was too busy looking at his phone to hear Dean and took a drink of his coffee then made a face. “This is god awful. I found a coffee bar  nearby .”

Hermione chuckled slightly. “Dean had just complained about the coffee. I haven’t tried it yet, although Philip did make me a cup.  Let's go check out the coffee bar and figure out what we need to do to prepare for this Alpha. I still have four more days until the locator potion is ready.” 

“I found a coffee shop but, I think we should just come back with the coffee and not stay there.” Sam made a face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Sam got the coffees, Dean microwaved food from last night. Burritos from Mom’s Kitchen, and pizza with all pork products,  appropriately called ‘the squealer’. They specifically saved those for breakfast because the food from the Van Horn Cattle Company was too rich for breakfast. Dean and Philip were looking up where people had been taken on the computer while Hermione looked over her potions book.

“So, the first set of five people reported missing came from the RV Park. Now, it’s  gonna be hard to find out who there were exactly since they were just passing through. Why they stopped here is beyond me.  Personally , this whole town has a-”

“The whole damn coffee shop is religious!” Sam backed into the room with a coffee cup colder.

“That,  exactly .” 

Dean rolled his eyes. “We’ve been in worse places. A religious area is nothing compared to a crazy werewolf making an army.”

Hermione frowned as she continued to read, overhearing them. They’d gotten into trouble before in religious small counties. These counties were always small, they’d known each other for ages, and new people made them anxious. It didn’t help that they came in to pry into their little  communities , to poke around and look for flaws. Hermione sighed. “We’re still going to have problems talking to people, Dean. We need to be careful. This isn’t what we’re used to.” She looked up from her book. “I don’t think you should do anything FBI related.”

Dean turned to look at her. “ Why not?”

“You have a problem with being delicate when it comes to religion. Clearly, it’s in the very breath of these people.”

Dean scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Hermione shook her head. “Dean,”

“ Fine .” He threw his hands up and walked out of the hotel room. Hermione moved to follow him, but Philip stopped her. 

“Let me  talk to him.” Hermione sighed and nodded, going back to her book. Philip followed Dean out of the room.

Sam frowned slightly as he set the coffee down. “I think that was the right call, Hermione.”

“I wish Dean would see it that way...”

“You know he  won't . Especially if I go alone. I think Philip should come with me. He knows this area better than we do, I think he could be helpful.”

“I know.” She closed her book and sighed again. “But he isn’t going to want to stay here with me, and to have more than one group of out of towners will make them even more uneasy...”


End file.
